Patterning

[Randy Roberts]

A couple weeks or so back a newly acquired Parker DHE 12 bore arrived. The letter specified as follows: DAC 1 3/8", DAH 2". Special instructions were Silvers rubber butt, medium thick comb, 2" of pitch, no safety, trigger pull 3 pounds, 2 Lyman sights, and full choke. The price was $75 plus $10 for extra long barrels (34").

The gun now has 1 9/16" DAC and 1 3/4" DAH AND now sports a manual safety with a PB slide. The engraving used to disguise the slot is still visible under the slide. PB work, who knows? My concern was the where the darn thing was going to shoot as it felt and looked really high to me. I can see a lot of rib on this one so off to the patterning board we go. I shot it at 34 yards as 40 would have required me to get muddy. Using Fiocchi 1 oz of #8 with both bores at .040 constriction I was both pleased and surprised. Right bore was dead on as pictured with the left shooting the same pattern but shifted to the left about 4". Now if it ever quits raining we can try some clay targets.